Ah, yes. The last few months of school. You can smell it in the air and taste it on your tongue, just like when you arrive at your favorite restaurant and know that the smells wafting out will soon be food on your plate.
Unfortunately, this often means you become distracted from your studies. You stop learning about topics that you’ll likely need to know for next year, and if you haven’t yet taken an ACT prep course or SAT prep class, it’s vital you keep focused.
To avoid flaking out on the last few months of your courses (and to make sure you don’t miss out on vital information for your upcoming ACT or SAT), try a few of these tactics:
1. Take a break.
You’re probably thinking, “Wait, weren’t you just telling me to get back to studying?” Yes, but the truth is that too much studying can be one of the causes of your loss of focus and momentum.
There are scientific studies showing how taking breaks helps students remember information longer and perform better on tests and quizzes.
So instead of cramming everything into the final month of school, make sure you keep on top of your coursework and ACT/SAT prep, and then reward yourself with long breaks before you have to take those final tests. You’re going to be less stressed and have better success!
2. Join a study group.
Can’t motivate yourself to study anymore? It’s likely some of your fellow classmates are still going strong, so figure out who they are and see if you can form a study group together.
No matter where it’s used (in school, in business, in your family, etc.), accountability is one of the biggest tactics for helping people complete their goals efficiently, on time, and with good results.
Studying with several other classmates will not only provide you free help (if you don’t know a topic, you can pick a classmate’s brain about it), but it will also help you stay motivated and accountable in the last few months of school.
3. Picture the end goal.
As the old saying goes, sometimes it’s “hard to see the forest through the trees.”
Every little thing that’s overwhelming you now are only steps to getting you to the end of the year. Instead of focusing on all of them individually, take a moment to remind yourself that finishing them will ultimately help you accomplish your goal: finishing your school year.
Then go ahead and tackle each of those trees one-by-one, so you can see that forest of freedom at the end!
Yes, it’s hard to maintain studying momentum, coursework, and ACT/SAT prep in the last few months of school (especially when all you can think about is that you’ll get to sleep in during the weekdays).
But the more you discipline yourself, the better your scores will be at the end of the year, which will come faster than you think. And that will be even more reason to celebrate.
